Belgian d'Uccle & ​Booted Bantam Club

Belgian d'Uccle Bantam

The Belgian d’Uccle Bantam was bred for the first time in the small municipality of Uccle at the southeast border of Brussels, Belgium by Michel Van Gelder, sometime between 1890 and 1900. The ‘d’ in front of d’Uccle means from or of (Uccle). If you happen to be in Belgium, the 'd' is dropped, and they are simply referred to as 'Uccles'. Most authors believe that the Belgian d’Uccle Bantam is a cross between the Dutch Booted Sabelpoot Bantam and the Antwerp Bearded Bantam, but this fact is not known for sure. Mr. Van Gelder traveled to many English and German poultry shows and the chance Dutch Booted Sabelpoot Bantam actually originated from somewhere in Asia and remains that some breeding material could have originated from either country. The is believed to contain some Japanese Bantam blood. So the d'Uccle has both Asian and Belgian roots.The first varieties of Belgian d’Uccles were the Mille Fleur, Porcelain, and White, but the Mille Fleur was the first variety entered into the American Poultry Association's Standards of Perfection in 1914. This was thirty-five years after the entrance of the Booted Bantam (a distinctly different breed from the Belgian d'Uccle). I mention this because sometimes the Booted Bantam and the Belgian d'Uccle are confused with one another. The standard weight of the bird is Cock 1 lb. 10 oz. / 740 grams;Cockerel and Hen, 1 lb. 6 oz./ 625 grams; Pullet 1 lb. 4 oz./570 grams. These are the weights that should be maintain for healthy birds and show weight.Although the weights of the TWO BREEDS are the same ONE MUST always keep in mind that these are TWO DIFFERENT BREEDS and there are Major differences in the two Breeds. The Booted Bantam has no Beard, has Large Wattles, is Taller and has a "U" shape between the head / neck and tail. Because there is d'Anver blood in the d'Uccle bantams the d'Uccle is a shorter bird, has a broader breast, Bull neck, very, very small wattles (or none) and a "V" shape between the Head/neck and Tail.